The Challenge season 38 is lacking excitement so far, and some fans are even calling the Ride or Dies version boring. After many seasons, The Challenge has adapted across decades, evolving beyond its original concept as a spin-off of MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules. Any long-running television show is likely to struggle with maintaining steady viewership, and The Challenge is no different. Ride or Dies premiered to lower ratings than past seasons, and the reaction from fans to the season thus far is a possible indicator of what is going wrong with the iconic reality show.
The main appeal of The Challenge is constant excitement. The show prides itself on coming up with increasingly high-stakes physical competitions, with competitors that are hungry for victory and willing to fight for it. Certain obstacles like The Challenge season 38 having a weak editing style and the failure of certain twists can lead to some seasons being less popular than others. However, Ride or Dies was poised to be entertaining. Several fan-favorite players were set to return, many of whom entered the game partnered with other Challenge alums. Despite the season’s potential, many fans are struggling to enjoy it.
The Challenge Fans Feel The Glory Days Are In The Past
In a Reddit thread started by user u/MKMJ28, fans discussed why The Challenge: Ride or Dies is struggling with ratings and general popularity, citing boring social dynamics and predictability as the main issues. Compared to past seasons, where constant excitement each week kept the online conversation going for days after each episode, the current season hasn’t produced much buzz. As The Challenge: Ride or Dies fails to deliver, many fans discussed missing the “golden age” of The Challenge from the early to mid-2000s.
The Challenge Fans Feel Returning Champs Are Playing It Too Safe
One major issue fans have with Ride or Dies is the lack of exciting social strategies from returning champs. One user commented, “The vets ‘playing for the future’ has almost ruined the show. This idea that you have to play nice so you can eventually be part of the majority alliance is so boring.” The Challenge allows for certain players to return indefinitely, with some champs like Johnny Bananas participating in a total of 21 seasons. However, veterans don’t want to burn bridges with potential future allies, leading to safe gameplay and less drama. Some even feel that Challengers like Bananas are “entitled” due to their veteran status.
Another problem fans have found is that The Challenge has become predictable due to certain editing decisions. One fan pointed out, “Anytime someone starts the episode getting TV time or they start a ‘storyline’ at the beginning then you know what’s likely going to happen.” Once the outcome of each episode is easily figured out by viewers, there is no incentive to keep watching. Past seasons of The Challenge would subvert expectations and pull out shocking results, but now each episode practically has a formula and eliminations are easy to guess.
In order for The Challenge to regain its reputation as an exciting and fast-paced show, certain changes need to be made. Fans feel that the social aspect of the game should be prioritized again, which would undoubtedly lead to more drama and conflict. Many viewers also believe that changes to editing on The Challenge would make episodes less predictable. While The Challenge: Ride or Dies may still pull out an exciting final, many fans are hoping the mistakes made this season won’t be repeated in the future.
Source: u/MKMJ28/Reddit